Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday evening, announced representatives with Mediacom will be present at City Hall to discuss the City’s fiber-optic internet service. He said afterward, if you have any questions, concerns or problems Mediacom needs to know about, they will listen to what you have to say. The meeting takes place in the Council’s Chambers inside City Hall, beginning at 6-p.m. on Nov. 7th.

He reminds residents that having a fiber-optic network doesn’t guarantee you will get the full, promised high speed that’s promised, because of the limitations of wiring that varies from house to house and business to business.

Jones said also, SeeClickFix is up and running. Cards are available at City Hall for you to take home that explains how to sign up your mobile device. It’s designed to make reporting issues to the City easier, since your information is routing to the Department responsible for handling certain issues, but not all issues can be solved, such as a property disputes and ugly homes.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved the 2018 Spring/Summer Street Improvement Project Engineering Agreement. Snyder and Associates’ Engineer Dave Sturm was present to identify the streets and work that’s scheduled to be completed next year. They include:

·        Plum Street, from 7th to 14th (which includes and milling and an asphalt overlay from 7th to 10th), and a reconstruction and widening, from 10th to 14th.

·        Patching and overlay on 14th Street, from Olive to Highway 71.

·        Chestnut Street, from 18th to 22nd.

·        Intersection improvements at 9th & Cherry.

·        The construction of a “hammerhead” turn-around at the south section (dead end) of Palm Street.

·        One alley between Birch and Cedar, from 10th to 13th.

The projects will cost a little more than $1-million. And, Police Chief Dave Erickson, Wednesday, implored the public to SLOW DOWN, when you come upon the scene of an accident, where Police Officers and Rescue Crews are located. Those flashing lights are on for a reason. Erickson said they had to flag down people driving too fast near the scene of an accident at 7th and Linn, earlier this week. The maximum speed, he said, should be 15 miles per hour when approaching or passing an emergency scene. Any faster risks the lives of those who are trying to deal with the emergency at-hand.

Republican Congressman Steve King held a congressional hearing today (Wednesday) on a bill he’s sponsoring that would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected. “At what instant does life begin? Science cannot precisely pinpoint the instant of conception,” King said, “but the ultrasound proves beyond any doubt that life is present every time there is a heartbeat.” King’s bill effectively would ban all abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy. King says it is “decades past” the time to overturn Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

“It is important that congress passes such a strong pro-life bill now because President Trump will hopefully appoint one or two more justices to the Supreme Court, making this a profound moment in the pro-life movement,” King said. “President Trump is actively changing the make-up of our judicial system with strong conservative nominees who would hear arguments about this bill while it is being challenged on the way to the Supreme Court.”

A Democratic congressman who spoke at the hearing called the bill a “direct attack” on a “woman’s constitutional right to choose.” Last year the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lower court’s ruling that overturned the North Dakota law that sought to ban abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat. The federal courts have also blocked an Arkansas law that would have banned abortions after 12 weeks of a pregnancy.

Current IOWA law — enacted this past May — bans most abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES – Thousands of elementary, middle school and high school students across Iowa participated in Secretary of State Paul Pate’s 2017 Iowa Youth Straw Poll on Wednesday. The Straw Poll is an exercise designed to inspire civic engagement among Iowa’s youth and give them a feel for how the electoral process works.

Secretary Pate said “I want to thank all the teachers, principals, and administrators who helped organize the event at their schools. This was a terrific, hands-on learning experience for thousands of Iowa students.” The goal, he said, “Is to make the experience enjoyable and hopefully propel them to be active in their community and be a consistent voter for the rest of their lives.”

Here are the Iowa Youth Straw Poll results, with the top three finishers in each category, as of 5:00 p.m. on November 1:

Should your city/town allow the sales and use of fireworks? 

YES – 76%    NO – 13%

What is your favorite school subject?

MATH – 26%        SCIENCE – 19%       SOCIAL STUDIES – 18%

What is your favorite state university in Iowa?

Iowa – 49%  Iowa State – 34%   Northern Iowa – 9%

Who is your favorite superhero?

Batman –  15%                   Wonder Woman – 12%       Spiderman – 12%

Up-to-date live results are available on the Secretary of State’s website, sos.iowa.gov.

Pictures submitted by teachers and a full list of the schools participating in the Youth Straw Poll are available at Elections101.org/BeAVoter.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has pleaded guilty to possessing both illegal drugs and child pornography in federal court. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Iowa says 23-year-old Jose Ramon Ortega-Ramirez entered the plea Wednesday in Sioux City’s federal court and was subsequently convicted of one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and one count of child porn possession.

Police say they intercepted a package from Mexico containing nearly 291 grams (10.26 ounces) of cocaine addressed to Ortega-Ramirez’s apartment. Police executed a controlled delivery, then searched Ortega-Ramirez’s home and found the package. He also admitted to having images of a nude minor.

He faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced at later date.

As Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) urges Iowans to install new or check existing carbon monoxide (CO) detectors as they turn back their clocks. “CO detectors are to carbon monoxide gas what smoke alarms are to fire,” said IDPH Environmental Health Services Bureau Chief Carmily Stone. “These simple alarms save lives because CO gas has no smell or taste. At high levels, carbon monoxide can cause death within minutes.”

Symptoms of exposure to carbon monoxide include headaches, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea and confusion. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning or your detector sounds an alarm, head outside immediately for fresh air and call 911. According to the Iowa Public Health Tracking program, carbon monoxide poisoning causes an average of 35 deaths and 300 emergency department visits each year in Iowa. Protect your family from carbon monoxide:

• Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home near every sleeping area and change the batteries every six months. Most hardware stores sell these detectors.
• Hire a professional annually to make sure your furnace and/or wood-burning stove is functionally sound and vents properly outside the home.
• Never run a gasoline or propane heater or a grill (gas or charcoal) inside your home or in an unventilated garage. Any heating system that burns fuel produces carbon monoxide. Use a battery-powered detector where you have fuel burning devices but no electric outlets, such as in tents, cabins, RVs and boats with enclosed cabins.
• Never run a car in an enclosed space. If a vehicle is running, you must have a door open to the outside.
• Run generators a safe distance from the home. Never run a generator in the home or garage, or right next to windows or doors.

For more information, data and resources about carbon monoxide, visit https://pht.idph.state.ia.us/Health/CarbonMonoxidePoisoning/Pages/Prevention.aspx.